


It's a Punch of Affection

by Colerate



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, One Shot, takes place where season one left off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 17:57:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17854436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colerate/pseuds/Colerate
Summary: The first thing Ben does when they land is punch Klaus.The second thing he does is hug him.





	It's a Punch of Affection

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished watching it

What registers first is the cloth beneath his fingertips. Smooth in a way he had thought he'd forgotten, but it all comes back to him now. Then there is the air which is, to be fair, a little stale and not at all refreshing. But it's air and he can feel it which is more than what he could say for himself ten minutes ago. 

He's not alone, he soon realises, opening his eyes to see the way too young faces of his siblings. They look just as dazed as he does, looking around with only semi-vacant eyes. Except for Five, he's already left the circle and is impatiently waving them over to the entrance of the concert hall. With a roll of his eyes, Five marches back over and takes to shaking Luther's shoulder. The man - now boy – jolts and joins in Five's quest of snapping everyone into focus.

Ben doesn't need to be shaken, by the time they get around to him he's all too aware of how his hand is holding Klaus's now much lower shoulder, aware of the way he can feel the material and the heat of the person underneath the jacket. 

He can feel. So he takes a crack at Klaus' jaw. 

“ _Oww,_ ” Klaus moaned exaggeratedly, hand rubbing circles on what will no doubt be a nasty bruise within the hour. It's nice to see he still packs a good punch after all these years of, well, not punching. But Klaus doesn't pout for too long, in fact, there's a goofy grin growing no more than fifteen seconds later once he realises the same thing Ben realised – he's living. 

He can feel. So he hugs Klaus.

Someone else tries to join the hug, or at least he thinks that's what they're doing, but he pushes them away quite firmly without checking to see who it is. Not Allison or Vanya, he can see them mirroring their embrace across from them. Although theirs includes a bit more crying and talking.

“Ben, buddy, this is great but as much as choking is a turn on and all-” Klaus doesn't get to finish his sentence because it soon devolves into whimpering pleas of mercy as Ben takes a step back and presses his finger into the spot he just punched. Only for a second though, he may have rediscovered his latent ability to touch and Klaus definitely deserves a hit or two but he's not a sadist. 

“Ben,” a new voice sounds and he can't identify whom it belongs to because none of them have gone through puberty, clearly, because Klaus sounds even whinier than he did before. With a turn, he sees it belongs to a much smaller Luther with disbelief written across his features. His hand, still a good bit larger than the rest of theirs despite his age, is half poised as though he wanted to reach out but thought better of it. Good. 

Luther is the second person Ben punches and he definitely hit a lot harder than the first. Luther even staggers back a few steps and everything.

“Holy shit,” Klaus exclaimed from behind him, a mix of giddiness and awe muddled together in his tone. It's an appreciated reaction, one that brings a small smile to Ben's face. 

Diego took a few steps forward, looking like he might intervene but he doesn't need to. Ben is perfectly happy with his lot in today's measure of violence, fighting those strange gas mask donning marksmen from earlier was pretty nice. Klaus' was more of an affectionate dig anyway and Luther has had it coming for the better part of the past week. Diego must see this, because he alters course and gives Ben a reassuring pat on the shoulder, both securing the fact that he is indeed there and also communicating that he's glad to have him back. Then, he moves on to where ever Five is trying to lead them. 

“Wanna grab some waffles?” Ben said, throwing an arm over Klaus' shoulder and following Diego. Klaus falls in step like it's the most natural thing in the world, like they've been doing it for years. It's nice. 

“Oh yes! With two and a half scoops of ice cream and every type of sprinkle they've got,” Klaus agreed, goofy grin still in place. 

As they walked onwards, down the polished but dusty aisle between rows of theatre seats with plush cushions now blue instead of red, the sun peaked over the rim of the glass dome above. With it no longer smashed, the painted glass tinted the light that silhouetted their figures in a way that was quite picturesque. Not that they could see it to appreciate it themselves, but Luther got a full view from behind.

“I don't think they do half scoops.”

“They do if you say pretty please - with a cherry on top, of course.”

"Of course."

**Author's Note:**

> No hard feelings for Luther myself - he was my fave when watching the first half of the series. I don't hate him. Just thought Ben might wanna throw some punches and these two lads were here so-
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](https://colespots.tumblr.com/)


End file.
